K-BEAUTY CATEGORY SURPASSES $2 BILLION IN SALES, NUMERATOR REPORTS
K-Beauty Growing 5x Faster than Skincare Industry; 1 in 3 U.S. Households Estimated to Buy Category by 2030
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CHICAGO, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Numerator, a consumer data and technology company, has published a new report on the rise of K-Beauty in the United States.
Korean beauty, otherwise known as K-Beauty, is moving beyond trend status to become an increasingly established part of U.S. skincare routines. The category, which is growing 5x faster than the skincare industry as a whole, has surpassed $2 billion in sales, with 25% of U.S. households making a purchase. By 2030, Numerator estimates 1 in 3 households could buy the category. As repeat purchase rates climb and 84% of buyers expect to maintain or increase their spending, K-Beauty is becoming a durable growth engine for beauty brands and retailers.
- K-Beauty doubled its category share by expanding the skincare category. K-Beauty skincare brands saw 51% sales growth for the latest 12 months ending Q1’2026 vs. the prior period. Over half of K-Beauty’s sales growth comes from incremental spending among skincare shoppers with the remaining coming from winning shoppers through competing brands such as La Roche Posay, The Ordinary, and Hero Cosmetics.
- Repeat purchasing suggests K-Beauty is becoming part of consumers’ everyday skincare routines. Household penetration has tripled since 2020, growing from 8% to 25% of U.S. households, while repeat purchase rates have nearly doubled from 26% to 48%.
- K-Beauty attracts a valuable cohort for beauty brands to engage. They are younger, high-income, and digitally engaged consumers who are passionate about skincare. K-Beauty buyers are 35% more likely to be Millennials, 27% more likely to be high-income ($80k+), 27% more likely to use TikTok, and 41% more likely to try new beauty brands.
- Digital commerce continues to shape K-Beauty’s growth. Two-thirds of K-Beauty sales occur online, with Amazon accounting for 44% of category spending, followed by Sephora (24%) and Ulta Beauty (11%). Online sales grew twice as quickly as in-store sales over the past year, led by Amazon (+62%) and TikTok Shop (+223%).
- Social platforms play an outsized role in K-Beauty discovery. 68% of K-Beauty buyers say that social media is somewhat, very, or extremely influential on their skincare purchases (vs. 49% for non-buyers).
- Skincare currently drives K-Beauty sales. 91% of K-Beauty sales come from skincare, led by facial moisturizers (18% of sales), facial serums (17%), facial masks (13%), and facial toner (11%).
- Medicube has driven K-Beauty adoption in the U.S. Nearly 1 in 5 first-time K-Beauty buyers entered the category through a Medicube purchase, making it the leading entry point for new category adoption. By dollar sales, the top K-Beauty brands are Medicube, Laneige, Glow Recipe, Cosrx, and Biodance.
- Innovation remains the defining strength of the K-Beauty category. Over one-third of buyers associate K-Beauty with being more “trend-forward” (39%) and “innovative” (34%) than non-K-Beauty products, and these buyers are more likely to express future interest in trends such as biomimetic peptides (2x that of non-buyers) and skinimalism (1.4x).
- Gen Alpha is K-Beauty’s next major growth opportunity. Among skincare-buying households with a Gen Alpha member, 77% say their tweens or teens influence skincare purchases—from requesting brands and introducing new ingredients to affecting where families shop and how much they spend.
Numerator’s K-Beauty survey was fielded 6/15/2026–6/16/2026 to more than 2,300 verified K-Beauty buyers and 750+ non-K-Beauty buyers. Purchase data was compiled using Numerator’s Total Commerce Panel. K-Beauty brands were defined as those with Korean origins, ownership, or headquarters, as well as widely recognized by consumers, retailers and industry experts as part of the K-beauty industry.
About Numerator
Numerator is a data company transforming how consumers and markets are understood. Powered by advanced technology and proprietary, zero-party purchase and survey data from more than one million households, Numerator provides visibility into consumer behavior and attitudes across consumer goods, retail, restaurants, tech and media, management consulting, institutional investors, and the public sector. Headquartered in Chicago, Numerator drives decisions at the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies in more than 50 countries.
Bob Richter Numerator 212-802-8588 press@numerator.com
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